Noelanders Trophy 2015

Hi, everybody,

Sorry for the delay in posting this post about the Noelanders Trophy 2015, but I have been really busy in a good way and could not make the time earlier!

I would like to quote my good friend Tony Tickle from his blog

“I thought last years event in Heusden- Zolder was terrific but the new venue at the Limburghal Genk has raised the show to a whole new level of excellence. The increased space in the exhibition and traders halls ensured that at no time, did it feel overcrowded. The issues that were given for the banning of photography last year seem to have been resolved by the increased area. Having said that, despite the ban, there were many people taking pictures inside the exhibition and quite a number of them have already appeared on the Internet. As an averagely obsessed hobbyist and small-scale blogger, who feels obliged to uphold the rules for fear of prejudicing my chances of having a tree accepted in the future, I personally feel disadvantaged by this. I sincerely hope the organisers will consider lifting this ban for next year; after all, in the same period, the Japanese have lifted the ban on photography at major shows and it would seem that the effect has been to open the shows up to a wider international audience.”

I could not agree more with Tony’s reasoning! The new location is so much better than the old one and it seemed that the level of the Bonsai had grown accordingly! Really the best show I have ever visited and a must-see for every devoted Bonsai enthusiastic! Only points of improvements that have to be taken care off in the future are the extremely long and cold waiting times at the entrance on Saturday and when you ask 50 Euro cents for every toilet visit (from a few thousand people over the weekend $$$)….well than they better be cleaned every now and than during that weekend! And like asked, I did not make any pictures of the trees on display, but many others did! I do believe that taking pictures should be a part of going to a Bonsai show like this one, especially when there is more than enough room to do so without disturbing the other visitors! But otherwise, it was a pure joy to be there and to be a little part of it all!!! Well, don to Mark and all his volunteers for creating an even better show than before! Bonsai has come fare in Europe and it is amazing to see how mature the Bonsai on display has become over the last few years! Really amazing!!!!!

But I do manage to make a quick picture during the photographing of my Hawthorn for the annual commemorative book that I would like to share with you!!! My old Hawthorn was only shown once earlier during the Ginkgo Awards in the late nineties and I was glad to show it once again some 15 years older and more mature!

Crataegus monogyna (Hawthorn)

Collected by me in Wales in the mid-nineties.

Pot by: Brian Allbright.

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

Info: karamotto@hotmail.com

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